Ga. residents arrested for 30 pounds of potTwo Georgia residents allegedly returning from Arizona were arrested on Tuesday after an officer with the Arkansas State Police found 30 pounds of marijuana, valued at more than $48,000, and $1,914 in cash in their vehicle. The two face felony charges of possession with the purpose of delivery. The officer stopped the suspects near the U.S. Interstate 40 eastbound 81 mile marker for following too close. The driver, Davina Chandler, 21, didn’t ...

Bond hearings (May 14, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear June 29 in Pope County Circuit Court. • Valencia Oliver, 43, aggravated assault — $5,000. On May 6, the Pope County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) received a report that a 9-year-old student with Down syndrome in the Russellville School District h...

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Compiled by Ryan SmithThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

5 dead in Arizona murder-suicide were relativesTUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A Tucson man gunned down four of his family members, including his 17-year-old niece, before fatally shooting himself in a murder-suicide, police said Wednesday. Police said Christopher Carrillo, 25, killed his relatives in the family home in a blue-collar neighborhood on the south side of Tucson. The others killed were 58-year-old Raul Carillo, 53-year-old Karen Saari, 32-year-old Erick Carrillo and 17-year-old Isela Rodr...

Panel votes to raise prosecutors' salariesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A state committee has voted to give Arkansas' full-time prosecutors a 23 percent pay raise. The Independent Citizens Commission on Wednesday gave final approval to its plan raise salaries for the state's 25 full-time prosecutors from $123,162 a year to $152,000. The commission also has called for raising pay for three prosecutors who are allowed to also work in private practice from $103,058 year to $129,200. No one spoke fo...

Little Rock police dog bites officer pursuing shoplifterLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock police say an officer accidentally fired his gun when a police dog attacked him while chasing a purported shoplifter. According to spokeswoman Sgt. Cassandra Davis, police were following someone suspected of shoplifting Tuesday at a Home Depot when police released a dog to help in the chase. The police dog was circling vehicles that the suspect had been hiding between before the person tried to climb a tree. Davi...

Armed standoff with police in Sheridan ends with arrestSHERIDAN (AP) — A man who shot at police during a standoff in a neighborhood near Sheridan is in custody. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler stated Donald Thomas, 47, of the Clearwater Lake area was arrested about 5 p.m. Tuesday after a state police SWAT team fired tear gas into a building where Thomas had barricaded himself inside. No injuries are reported. Sadler said the Grant County Sheriff's Office reported that Thomas called aut...

Bond hearings (May 12, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear June 29 in Pope County Circuit Court. • Preston Pfeifer, 19, possession with purpose to deliver — $15,000. On Sunday, a Russellville Police Department (RPD) officer stopped a vehicle with a headlight out. The officer reportedly searched the ve...

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Compiled by Ryan SmithThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Jury selection begins in trial of suspect in girl's deathBENTONVILLE (AP) — Jury selection has begun for the capital murder trial of a Bentonville man charged with kidnapping, raping and killing a 6-year-old girl. Zachary Holly is charged in the Nov. 20, 2012, death of Jersey Bridgeman. He has pleaded not guilty and faces a possible death sentence if convicted. One hundred potential jurors arrived Friday in Benton County Circuit Court and that eight were dismissed because they are related to or know...

Bond trader fined, license revoked for Shoffner dealingsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas bond trader who gave $36,000 to former state Treasurer Martha Shoffner in exchange for bond business has been fined $20,000 and had his securities license revoked. An order released Friday stated Steele Stephens is guilty of two violations of Arkansas' securities law. Hearing officer Jack Pruniski found that Stephens violated securities law when he failed to disclose the amount of commission on a proposed sale be...

Man found shot to death in Little Rock homeLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Police in Little Rock said a man has been found shot to death in a home south of midtown. Lt. Sidney Allen said officers were called about 5:30 a.m. Friday by a person who said a neighbor had reported a person at another home had been shot. Allen said officers found Jonathan Brown, 33, dead with at least one gunshot wound and that detectives are searching for Ronnie Collins, 32, in connection with the shooting. Police said C...

Person wanted in fatal shooting found walking along highwayHOPE (AP) — Authorities say a person wanted in a fatal shooting of an Oklahoma man this week was found walking along an Arkansas highway. The Texarkana Gazette reported the 49-year-old Idabel, Oklahoma, resident was taken into custody Thursday morning by an Arkansas State Police trooper on state Highway 32. Authorities in southwest Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma were alerted Wednesday night about the shooting and began searching the area for ...

McDonald's robbery suspects at large; police gathering infoClarksville police responded to a report of robbery at the McDonald’s located on 1232 S. Rogers St. on Thursday at approximately 1 a.m. Upon arrival, officers spoke to employees who reported that two people entered through an unlocked door and demanded cash. The suspects fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash toward the Nature Trail. Both suspects were dressed in dark clothing, masked and armed. Anyone with information about this inci...

Ex-gynecologist in Paragould sentenced for voyeurismPARAGOULD (AP) — A former Paragould gynecologist has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to video voyeurism involving female patients at his clinic. Prosecutors said Paul Becton, 69, was sentenced after pleading guilty Wednesday in Greene County Circuit Court to four charges as part of a plea deal in which four other charges were dismissed. District Attorney Scott Ellington said the victims approved the deal in order ...

Escape from county jail in Oklahoma recaptured in ArkansasFAYETTEVILLE (AP) — The U.S. Marshals Service says an escaped inmate from the Adair County Jail in eastern Oklahoma has been recaptured in western Arkansas. The marshals service said Wednesday that Frank Potter was found Tuesday night hiding in the attic of an apartment complex in Fayetteville and was captured without further incident. Adair County authorities say Potter escaped Saturday by climbing over a fence and going to a nearby home wher...

West Memphis 3 rally calls for reopening of investigationLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Supporters of the three men convicted for the 1993 killing of three boys in West Memphis are calling on officials to reopen the investigation. The "Justice for Six Rally" on Tuesday on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol marked the 22nd anniversary of the deaths of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch and Michael Moore. Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin, referred to as the West Memphis Three, were convicted ...

Second Suspect in Little Rock robberies arrestedLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Police have arrested a second suspect in a robbery in the Breckenridge area and an attempted robbery at Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock. Lt. Sidney Allen said a 30-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday and faces charges including two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of theft of property. Authorities said the suspect, along with a man, tried to rob a woman outside the mall Sunday. According to police, the victim resis...

Woman charged with human traffickingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Wynne woman is charged with human trafficking stemming from allegations that she forced two teenagers into prostitution and was being held Tuesday on $250,000 bond. Jonesboro police say charges were lodged against 28-year-old Amber Nicole Johnson in Craighead County District Court. Johnson was arrested by Arkansas State Troopers in Little Rock last week at a motel where troopers announced Monday they had rescued a 15-year-...

Witnesses testify slain Ashdown couple were meth usersASHDOWN (AP) — Witnesses have testified in the capital murder trial of a man charged in the 1997 deaths of an Ashdown couple that the deceased were methamphetamine users. Timothy Lamont Howard is on trial for the second time in the deaths of Brian and Shannon Day and for attempted murder of the couple's 7-month-old son. Prosecutors have said Howard killed Shannon Day because she thought she was pregnant with Howard's child and that he killed B...

Deputies arrest crawfish store owner in drug stingHARRISBURG (AP) — Deputies have arrested the owner and employees of a northeast Arkansas crawfish store after they found methamphetamine and other illegal items during a raid. An incident report from the Poinsett County Sheriff's Office states that meth, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a stolen John Deere riding lawnmower were found at H&T Crawfish on Friday. The department says it was tipped off by a resident who told authorities young chil...

Police investigate shooting at carnivalBLYTHEVILLE (AP) — Authorities in northeast Arkansas are investigating after a juvenile was shot and wounded at a carnival. Blytheville Police Capt. Scott Adams told the Jonesboro Sun on Monday that authorities hope to serve a warrant soon in the Friday shooting. He says a suspect shot the child at a Mississippi County carnival before fleeing and that the suspect and victim know each other. Their identities haven't been released and their rela...